Update: Netflix has reached out to say the more accurate number is “roughly $160 million” and Variety has amended their report. The piece below has been updated to reflect this new information.
Today, it was announced that Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited Netflix film “The Irishman” is finally ready to debut at this year’s New York Film Festival. It’s great news even for those not attending this year’s festival because that means the eventual theatrical release (and subsequent streaming launch) shouldn’t be too far behind. But if you’ve been following the post-production drama surrounding the film, you know that this premiere is a long time coming. And apparently, it’s become pretty damn costly for Netflix.
In Variety’s report on the NYFF announcement, the outlet posted that the current cost for “The Irishman” seems to be at roughly $160 million $200 million. With a budget like that, you’d assume the Scorsese film would feature Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci flying around in capes and fighting Thanos.
We’ve known for a while now that “The Irishman” was going to be a costly film for Netflix. When the streaming service originally purchased the rights to the film, it was reported that the budget would likely be as much as $125 million. Then, as post-production kept going and going and going, with the filmmaker tinkering with the extensive CGI that will be used to de-age his cast, reports started emerging that the cost had ballooned up to $150 million. Of course, the jump from $150 million to $200 million is quite significant, but not at all unexpected, as Netflix is obviously willing to spend as much as it takes to bring the crime drama to theaters and perhaps to the Oscars.
READ MORE: 2020 Best Picture Oscars Contenders And Predictions
Obviously, Variety’s report doesn’t include a line-item breakdown of each and every expense on the film. So, there’s the possibility that the $160 $200 million isn’t just for the production budget, but could include some of the marketing and presumed Oscar campaigning. But still, this is a massive amount of money for a company to spend on a film that is likely not going to come close to recouping the costs at the box office. The streaming service better hope a de-aged De Niro can bring in the subscribers, right?
As mentioned, exact release dates and whatnot are still not known. All we do know is that “The Irishman” will finally premiere as the opening night film at this year’s NYFF, which begins on September 27.
